Q-CTRL, an Australian maker of software that controls quantum computers and sensors, raised $290 million in a Series C round led by Salesforce Ventures, lifting its valuation above $1 billion.
The Sydney company said the round, about A$415 million, was expanded twice to meet demand and is the largest raise for a quantum business focused on software. Bullhound Capital and Affinity Partners made significant commitments. New investors include AMD Ventures, Abu Dhabi defense group EDGE, MPower Partners, SPARX Asset Management and the National Reconstruction Fund Corp., a government-backed Australian investor. Returning backers include DCVC, In-Q-Tel, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Main Sequence, Square Peg and Salesforce Ventures.
Navigation without GPS
Q-CTRL sells software that calibrates qubits and reduces errors in quantum algorithms, but its fastest-growing pitch is Ironstone Opal, a navigation system that uses quantum magnetometers and gravimeters to read tiny variations in the magnetic field and gravity of the Earth. The system compares those readings with stored maps to fix a position, so it keeps working when satellite signals are jammed or spoofed. The company said it is being deployed on commercial aircraft with Airbus and on autonomous platforms with Lockheed Martin.
Navigation that does not depend on GPS has become a priority for militaries and airlines after widespread jamming near conflict zones, which helps explain the mix of defense and corporate investors in the round. Salesforce Ventures said the control software layer will decide whether quantum machines reach corporate data centers this decade.
Use of proceeds
Q-CTRL, founded in 2017 by Chief Executive Michael Biercuk, plans to use the money to expand its software and its international sales. It has offices in Sydney, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Huntsville, Berlin and Oxford. The round adds to a heavy week for deep-tech funding that included UFORCE raising $700 million for military drones.
